Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Stake Boosted by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,902,402 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,615 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.65% of Agilent Technologies worth $264,491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in A. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,246,489 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,841,659,000 after buying an additional 2,170,219 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,255,526 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,146,773,000 after purchasing an additional 1,519,134 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,097,313 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $458,162,000 after acquiring an additional 254,998 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $509,904,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,749,857 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $382,313,000 after acquiring an additional 153,630 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:A traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $153.68. The company had a trading volume of 279,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,509,294. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $143.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $135.49. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $96.80 and a one year high of $155.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.04 billion, a PE ratio of 36.60, a PEG ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The medical research company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 27.09% and a net margin of 18.35%. The business’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.37 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on A shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $163.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $67.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.29.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other news, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.34, for a total transaction of $239,315.72. Following the transaction, the director now owns 54,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,935,235.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.34, for a total value of $239,315.72. Following the transaction, the director now owns 54,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,935,235.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 4,828 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.00, for a total value of $719,372.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,178,021. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 61,610 shares of company stock worth $9,220,333.

Agilent Technologies Company Profile

Agilent Technologies, Inc provides application focused solutions to the life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Life Sciences and Applied Markets, Diagnostics and Genomics, and Agilent CrossLab. The Life Sciences and Applied Markets segment offers liquid chromatography systems and components; liquid chromatography mass spectrometry systems; gas chromatography systems and components; gas chromatography mass spectrometry systems; inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry instruments; atomic absorption instruments; microwave plasma-atomic emission spectrometry instruments; inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry instruments; raman spectroscopy; cell analysis plate based assays; flow cytometer; real-time cell analyzer; cell imaging systems; microplate reader; laboratory software; information management and analytics; laboratory automation and robotic systems; dissolution testing; and vacuum pumps, and measurement technologies.